Monoculture, Consumerism and Capitalism, could be deemed as the contributing factor to environmental issues. Together, they drive the insatiable thirst for more profits from an ever dwindling natural resource. From a business point of view, it’s far more economical to systematically grow a single favoured crop to facilitate its management, harvest and marketability.

However, such approach necessitates the use of pesticides and chemical fertiliser to help sustain an artificially-induced environment for the crop to thrive. Unfortunately, this adversely impacts soil health via the decimation of beneficial microbes, bacterias, earthworms and fungi. The lack of these natural supporting elements further ensures the continuous use of chemicals; a vicious cycle whose cascading consequences are well documented.

The recognition of this chain of events informs our agriculture and permaculture consultancy practice at Soilogy. The logical approach to combating this unsustainable dependency calls for the employment of polyculture (the strategic cultivation of many plant species to increase density and diversity of vegetation) that mimics the natural setup of a food forest environment. By increasing the diversity of plant types per square meter, the coexistence of various plant types naturally repel pests. Coupled with healthy soil, a naturally strong plant would not require pesticides and chemical fertiliser to grow.

In a nutshell, permaculture practices eliminate our reliance on artificial inputs into a natural system. Instead of relying on these external inputs, the very resources we need to drive the system are derived from within the system itself. Hence, this is a far more economical, sustainable and environmental friendly approach to food production.